Farleys were instructed by client C in 2012. She had suffered abuse as a child at the hands of an older cousin. Approximately 2 years before we were contacted she had reported the abuse to the Police and the abuser had pleaded guilty to the offences.
An application was made for compensation to the CICA and correspondence entered into to establish firstly an entitlement to damages and secondly the level of such damages.
The CICA accepted that the Applicant had been abused and had suffered a psychiatric injury as a consequence and made an initial offer of £9,500.
This offer was appealed and supporting evidence obtained from a psychiatric consultant.
On the basis of this evidence and the appeal submitted the CICA revisited the claim and following a reassessment increased the offer to the Applicant to a level of £22,000 which was the correct award for the injuries suffered and which was accepted.
The Applicant was delighted with the outcome. The matter was dealt with by a Partner in the firm of Farleys, Jonathan Bridge, who commented:
“This case shows the advantages of using a Solicitor to pursue CICA claims. We felt that it was clear that the original offer was wrong and whereas some Litigants in person may have been inclined to accept such offer with the proper advice the Applicant was able to more than double the damages awarded for the terrible abuse that she had suffered”.